IBR - Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski

[Ashley, The Tipsy Challenger]

Members Starting the BR: Jessica, MrsGeo and Skye
Challenge: Book Quest Adventures
Book: Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski

Anyone is free to join in this Buddy Read! Happy Reading!

[Mrsgeo]

Started this morning. Liking what I've read so far. I remember Solidarnosc (Solidarity in English) and the struggle for political freedom in the 1980s, headed by the trade union. Sadly, freedom for the LGBT+ community has been much harder to obtain/retain. There was a big Polish community where I live in Scotland, in part because a Polish RAF squadron, flying Spitfires, was based in a local aerodrome during WW2. Post war events meant most of them could never go home again. This book is bringing back a lot of childhood memories.

[Mrsgeo]

Overall, I enjoyed it and it did feel right for the time in which it was set. However, I wasn't really invested in the romance, as it had failure written all over it from the start. Ludwig and Janusz were both gay, living in Russian controlled Poland but they came at both these issues from opposite ends of the spectrum. Ludwig wants to be true to his desires but Junusz is happy (?) to take a wife and live in the shadows. Ludwig hates the regime and thinks about leaving while Janusz joins the Communist Party and embraces the system which would turn on him in an instant, if they knew the real 'him'. There's no hope of a happy ending for either of them.